By Pramod Raj Sedhain.
After facing the worst terrorist attack in decades (7-9 January), France took initiatives by starting new counter-terrorism efforts to deal with future terror attacks. France said it will spend 425 million Euros over the next three years for all counter-terror efforts. The new measures to fight against terrorism include acquiring new equipment, recruitment and use of new methods in security sector. The focus has been on increased intelligence-gathering. Intelligence service in France is now the most powerful in its history.
New efforts range from tapping phones legislation. However, privacy is the major concern, which will face objections from the EU community. They got unprecedented authority for all necessary measures for countering terrorism. Intelligence will have the right to block terrorists’ sites and extremists’ propaganda sites, authority to carry out surveillance of database, search, seize or even detention of suspected terrorists. Review or revision of counterterrorism laws will help in combating homegrown terrorism.
France has already deployed military on the streets and public buildings. French military involvement in Africa can grow further. Under the new anti terror plan, sixty more Muslim clerics will be recruited to work in the prisons, expected to avoid future risks. An internet site has been in place to inform the public about ways of preventing youth radicalization. Such vital measures can help neutralize terror acts in France. Such new efforts could spread the ideology battle against radical Islamists at home to reduce the risk of radicalization.
French media reported that more than 1,200 French citizens and residents are now linked to foreign jihad, some being involved with Jihadist in Syria, Iraq or Yemen. Even some of them are former French soldiers. Such a serious threat cannot be eliminated without proper strength and capacity to counter terrorism. French extremists joining fighters abroad will have a long term national security threat. Therefore, review of intelligence-gathering system will be helpful to detect connected radicals link abroad. French security had a very limited practice of electronic monitoring and data surveillances but new measures will provide legitimacy. French secret service monitors more than 3,000 suspected terror links and people round the clock.
France’s new plans to combat terrorism will hire some 2,600 counter-terrorism officers – 1,100 of them specifically for intelligence services to eliminate potential new threat. New security strategy will basically focus on better screening of extremist groups within the country. But what has to be noted is that all internal security threats are motivated of incited externally. Detection of suspected electronic devices carried into flights is still limited and needs more powerful response.
How can West fight against terrorism?
French new measure can be one of the best ways to counter terrorism. However, this is not enough. Terrorists have very dangerously spread in the Middle East, North Africa and even to South Asia. Its impact is spreading across the globe. Local insurgent groups affiliated with global terror networks are more dangerous. Combating terrorism cannot be done over night. It needs long and dangerous struggle. It needs to be destroyed for world peace.
Understanding terrorists’ strategy and plan is not an easy task. It needs military measures to counter such threats. Attacks on foreign terrorist groups, their core leadership and recruitment centre through targeted areal attacks can help in neutralizing their future plots. Military raids in terrorist hot-spots and monitoring suspected areas is needed to make the comprehensive plan successful. Massive cooperation with intelligence agencies around the world is needed to battle terrorism. But this has remained limited.
Local governments and western nations need to work together with enhanced cooperation to fight against terrorism. Current climate of terrorism has spread widely. Global counter-terrorism strategy will not be implemented or successful without hard militaristic approach. Fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria killing their core leadership is the first and foremost thing for global security. Attacks and crushing al-Qaeda core leadership and its branch bastion is another important step to break global terrorism. al- Qaeda’s most dangerous offshoot base Yemen needs western military initiatives and more intelligence gathering to kill their core leadership. Need to strike the Nigeria-based terrorist group Boko Haram is one of the urgent task to do. The group’s terror capacity has been growing and has reached even to Cameroon, Niger, and Chad. There are possibilities that this terrorist group might penetrate or even reach western countries in the coming years if they are not stopped.
Terrorists’ new attempts cannot be stopped if their bases and sources are not destroyed. Increased security measures can stop them before planning an attack. Cooperating with other countries and intelligence sharing will serve the interest of all countries. Local support is equally important to combating terrorism in the countries targeted by such terrorist groups. Security only cannot ensure safety. The most important task is to wipe them out. “Wipe out” terrorism is not an easy task because we have witnessed the fight against Islamic State and al Qaeda. Infiltration of western intelligence in these organizations has been very rare.
Now the question remains: Will the war against terror without proper and effective intelligence measures be successful? New initiative is the need of the hour to fight against terrorism. Rise of extremist groups has been a global threat and it needs broader coalition. Greater cooperation with the Arab and Asian nations to combat terrorism is another important aspect. Potential terrorist monitoring with advance-knowledge security can only foil deadly terror attacks. Strong intelligence not only prevents future attacks but also neutralizes terror activities inside the country. Western military can carry out anti-terror raids abroad to finish off terrorist leaders. Without such action, imminent attacks cannot be ruled out in the future. State needs to be more cautious about terrorists’ new plot, planning, tactic and action.
Different western youths have sworn alliance to Islamic State and al-Qaeda terrorist organizations to target their own western homeland. It is high time that such radicalization be stopped since this holds more ideological problem than security problem. This situation can be problematic in the long run and will be more costly for safely and security of the western nations. Elimination of terrorism will not be possible without local public support and local government anti-terrorist warfare. Without destroying terrorists’ bases, recruits, logistics, financial support through western aerial support, winning the war against terrorism is not possible. New form of inclusive and effective global counter-terrorism mechanism is the need of the hour to systematically counter terrorism.
